Method and apparatus for detecting pedestrian vehicle impact

An apparatus for detecting a pedestrian/vehicle impact comprising:

• a plurality of sensors mounted near a forward location of a vehicle, each sensor providing an associated signal indicative of an impact event;
• a metric determining device for determining metric values for each of the sensor signals;
• a controller for determining if any of said determined metric values indicates the occurrence of a misuse event, said controller further determining the occurrence of a pedestrian/vehicle impact event by comparing the metric value of at least one sensor signal against a selectable threshold and providing an actuation signal in response to said comparison, the selectable threshold being selected in response to the determined occurrence of a misuse event;
• and
• an actuatable impact mitigation device attached to the vehicle and being responsive to said actuation signal from said controller.

A method for detecting a pedestrian/vehicle impact comprising the steps of:

• sensing impact acceleration at a plurality of locations near the front of the vehicle;
• determining metric values for each of the sensed accelerations;
• determining if any of the metric values indicates the occurrence of a misuse impact event;
• selecting a threshold in response to the determination of the occurrence of a misuse impact event;
• comparing the metric value of at least one sensed acceleration against the selectable threshold;
• and
• providing an actuation signal to an impact mitigation device in response to said comparison.